Portland, Oregon artist Leigh Marble had every reason to celebrate this year. His wife, Elena, was pregnant with the couple’s first child. And Marble was to release his third full-length, Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows.

The album, which found Marble delving deeper into an indie-fied spectrum of soundscapes and experimentation, was a cathartic work written in the wake of his wife’s battle with cancer several years prior. However, before the album’s release and the birth of their child, he and Elena would learn that her cancer was back.

Elena had originally been diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2007, while Marble was finishing production on his sophomore release Red Tornado. She began a crash course of cancer treatments, starting with chemotherapy and followed later by aggressive surgery to remove the known tumor sites. After that difficult year, her cancer was considered to be in remission.

Fast forward to March of 2012 — just prior to Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows‘ release and with Elena seven months pregnant. Persistent arm pain led to a biopsy, which revealed breast cancer cells growing in Elena’s lymph nodes. Somehow, the cancer had returned.

On Friday, April 13, 2012, Elena gave birth to the couple’s healthy baby girl. Mere weeks later, she had to once again start an aggressive course of cancer treatment.

This twist of fate has made Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows a bittersweet release for Marble. The album symbolized a triumph over cancer and the resulting dark times that he and his wife had been through — times which they were just beginning to feel that they had put squarely behind them.

Marble has called off all touring to stand by his wife during her battle with cancer. Despite not being able to connect with fans in person this summer, he plans to maintain contact online and release a series of videos for Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows.

PRESS FOR WHERE THE KNIVES MEET BETWEEN THE ROWS:

“Dark songwriting doesn’t get any better than this.” – New York Music Daily

“A steam-blowing, soul-searcher of a record.” – The Celebrity Cafe

“Knives is infused with a powerful melancholy, but instead of giving up and drowning in it like some emo-folk sad-sack, he has decided that he’s going to weather his storms and come out on the other side better for the experience.” – Dryvetyme Onlyne

“Marble sounds like he’s gunning for Lou Reed’s crown, except it’s not a decadent Velvet Underground he seeks to rule, it’s a realm where the passionate heart, not the analytical head, forms the soul of a new religion.” – Portland Tribune